Buildings intended for commercial or retail office space are generally constructed in a manner which permits the sectioning off of selected floor areas according to the wishes of a tenant to provide individual offices in accordance with an office floor plan designed by or for the individual tenant. Since the tenancy on any particular floor of an office building might be expected to change every few years or so, it is important that the lighting installation of each floor of the building be of a type which is relatively easily modified and rewired so that individual offices, conference rooms, kitchen and reception areas, etc. can be sectioned off and provided with their own overhead lights and light switch.
For this reason, it is advantageous to use a modular wiring system made up of separate interconnecting components for wiring together the light fixtures and other electrical components of an office or retail space. The more simple the design and construction of the wiring components, the more advantageous is the system. Likewise, the more simple the method of wiring together the components, the more advantageous is the system. However, a simple design and wiring method alone are not the only objectives of an efficient wiring system; it is also desirable that the components of the wiring system be easy to work with in that they be manageable and “foolproof” (i.e. designed so that only designated components of the system are capable of being connected to other components in accordance with the intended wiring method).
Modular wiring systems may be used for wiring light fixtures, control systems, devices, switches, panels and other electrical equipment in both residential and commercial construction. Modular “plug-and-play” components reduce installation time and enable quick, safe and cost-effective alterations. Pre-terminated connections provide an economical solution for flexible environments, tenant fit-up, retail display or renovations. Modular wiring systems dramatically reduce labour costs compared to hard wiring methods.
A modular wiring system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,802, which is hereby incorporated in its entirety.
Further improvements on this and other known modular wiring technologies remain highly desirable.